Up Up & Away!

 

Leaving on a jet plane! A big one at that! Today was a good, exciting and long day; filled with mixed emotions and tears (on my behalf that is, not Luke's). Crazy that we are actually gone and starting this next chapter. We had a great send off from Len, Karin, Quinn, Max, my momma (dad in spirit), Jocelyn and Abigail. This time instead of watching Luke go through security I was right along side him, and that in itself was pretty neat. 

So far the plane ride has been fairly decent, currently I am writing this and it is 12:26 am Calgary time. Having said that, neither of us have gotten any sleep, a little attempt but no success. Not to mention there is a little guy not to far behind that screams periodically which makes the already challenging sleep even more difficult. I must say, Air Canada has a pretty sweet set up (sorry Joc!). Of coarse we get the complimentary pillow and blanket, but there are some features that we are rather enjoying. The TV has games on it, which we can play against each other in a number of different games. The windows are operated by a button that actually dims the windows to 5 different settings, from blue toned to completely dark. The window features got Luke quite excited as he had read about them previously. He enjoyed playing with the settings to find just the right one for our comfort. We were fed dinner and breakfast.

But all things considered we are very relaxed and already enjoying our overtired yet excited selves. Hethrow is a crazy airport, quite large and works very different, we made it to our connection for Dublin in time but there wasn't much to spare. They also love taking pictures of us. At customs, and again before boarding the airplane. We already decided that we have to save our British accents for the hotel room, as it was difficult to not speak with them as we were at the airport briefly. 

So FUN FACT!! We get to the car rental and Luke hands them his license and because he isn't 23 he can't rent the car. Although he has had his license for 6 years he also has to be 23... Apparently... SO I HAVE BEEN DRIVING IN DUBLIN! Plus we are in a Jetta because that was the only automatic transmission vehicle they had left. Now, lets put this into perspective a little bit. I am driving on the right hand side of the car, the left hand side of the road. It is bizarre! Not only that but they park half on the street and half on the side walks here. We were at an intersection that had a red light and then a green arrow pointing straight, this as we learned means you GO... Flashing yellow arrows mean yield, and lines on the road don't seem to mater one bit.             

     

 

 

When we arrived and got the car situation figured out, we decided to head in the direction of our hotel and stop at Kilmainham Gaol Museum. Which is a jail that was built in 1800's. We got there and the guy at their front greeting us that worked there had been given 2 free vouchers for the tour that was starting in 7 minutes. So we didn't have to pay to go on the museum tour which was awesome! It is a very crazy structure that a lot of people were crammed into, including women and children for crimes such as even stealing a loaf of bread (a 14 day sentence). Was a super interesting tour. 

                                      

Now we have gotten to the hotel and are trying to figure out what to eat for dinner, then a more relaxing evening tonight as our hotel is in more of an indutrial area and in the outskirts of Dublin. So far we are doing good with adjusting to time zone just have to make it a few more hours.

And so the adventure continues...